Caitlin Thwaites back where it began

Diamonds goal shooter Caitlin Thwaites has finally returned to the Melbourne Vixens

Goal shooter Caitlin Thwaites in action for the Diamonds

Diamonds goal shooter Caitlin Thwaites has finally returned to the Melbourne Vixens after ­almost a decade spent in New Zealand, NSW and, most recently, Collingwood.

“It’s amazing to have been able to find another spot here in Melbourne,” Thwaites, a founding Melbourne player, said yesterday.

Thwaites was all smiles as she stood on the sunny forecourt of Melbourne Arena, with Collingwood’s facilities just over her shoulder and across the road. She was a standout in a struggling Magpies team over the past two seasons, and almost won her second best and fairest award last week. “You don’t get to play for 17 years without a few bumps along the way,” she said. “To keep doing what I love doing, it’s just a matter of finding a way.”

But the Magpies wouldn’t offer Thwaites a new contract, opting instead to sign young Jamaican shooter Shimona Nelson from the Adelaide Thunderbirds.

Thwaites, now 31, won a premiership with the Vixens in 2009. She’ll be back in her No 12 in 2019, reunited with Vixen No 6, Renae Ingles. Things may get crowded in the Melbourne goal circle when Malawian shooter Mwai Kumwenda recovers from the knee injury that ended her season in July.

“I’m very aware that I’ll have to bring my A game to keep my spot on the court,” Thwaites said.

The Magpies will have their own selection headaches to deal with next season, after adding newly minted Diamond Kelsey Browne to a crowded midcourt.

Browne, a “massive homebody” by her own description enjoyed great success during her two premiership seasons at Sunshine Coast, but said in a video posted to Collingwood’s website that she ­always wanted to be back with her family in Melbourne.

“I have no bad words to say about Lightning. They gave me an opportunity,” she said.